Trane Thermostat Not Turning On? Here’s How To Fix

If your Trane thermostat not turning on, we have a solution for you!

Trane thermostats are battery-powered thus you should be focusing on power-related problems first. However, there are other specifications that we will also review in this guide!

Fix a Trane thermostat that won’t turn on by power cycling the device and then replacing the batteries. Unclip the safe-T switch in your system if you have one and clean the battery compartment.

Even if the device cannot turn on you can still perform a factory reset, but we’ll discuss this later.

Let’s now first determine where the problem is coming from.

Why Won’t The Trane Thermostat Won’t Turn On?

When coming up with a proper cause for the issue with your Trane thermostat, one of the most frequent suspects is the batteries inside of your thermostat.

If they run out of charge or don’t make proper contact with the thermostat’s electric poles, your device won’t start.

Here is a summarized list of all problems that have a chance of impacting your Trane thermostat and preventing the device from being turned on:

1. Temporal Battery Insufficiency

The batteries could have more charge left, but if inserted improperly, your device won’t turn on.

2. Obstructed Electricity Poles

Dirt inside of your thermostat’s compartment may be preventing the batteries from making proper contact.

3. Worn-Out Batteries

The batteries could have simply gone faulty.

4. Flipped Safe-T-Switch

Most users install a Safe-T-Switch on their HVAC furnace pipe that if flipped, will prevent the thermostat from being turned on when connected.

5. Thermostat Hardware Problem

Lastly, there’s a possibility of a hardware problem with your thermostat that’s preventing you from starting the device.

Those were the possibilities that we’ll be focusing on further in the guide so let’s jump right in!

How To Fix A Trane Thermostat Not Turning On?

Before we proceed, you should know that the Safe-T-Switch can be both manually and automatically triggered.

The switch will auto-activate when it detects a clogged AC drain line. It will disable your entire system along with the thermostat that turns the AC on and off to avoid flooding on the floor.

Here’s how to fix a Trane thermostat that refuses to turn on:

Solution #1 Power Reset Trane Thermostat

The first and most easy thing you should attempt is the power cycle process.

If your thermostat has run into a power problem, a power cycle can indefinitely solve the problem as it involves a power circulation with the batteries.

Here’s the complete power cycle guide for your Trane thermostat:

1. Take the front panel of your thermostat off.
2. Expose all 3 batteries.
3. Take the batteries out.
4. Standby for 5 minutes while the thermostat is getting discharged.
5. Re-insert the batteries back into your thermostat.
6. Test.

Note: As you put the batteries back in, watch out for the electric poles and the way you’re inserting them.

Solution #2 Clean Trane Battery Compartment

Dirt inside of your Trane thermostat’s battery compartment can actively prevent the batteries from making contact.

If that happens, what you should do is make sure that the thermostat’s internal compartment is clean.

Here’s how to clean your Trane thermostat internally:

1. Go next to the Trane thermostat unit.
2. Take the front panel off and expose the batteries.
3. Eject the batteries out.
4. Grab both wet and dried napkins.
5. Use the wet napkin to soften the dirt inside your thermostat.
6. Collect everything using the dried napkin.

Note: Ensure that you re-insert the batteries once the compartment has fully dried up to avoid power problems.

Solution #3 Replace Thermostat Batteries

If cleaning the thermostat’s internal compartment didn’t help with the problem, you should replace all of the batteries inside.

Chances are that the batteries got finally worn out and they are due for replacement.

Here’s how to replace the batteries of your thermostat in easy steps:

1. Go to the Trane thermostat.
2. Expose the 3 batteries again.
3. Take all of them out and get 3 new units of AAs.
4. Put them inside your thermostat.
5. Close the compartment.
6. Test.

Note: Avoid using already used batteries and insert a fresh pair!

Solution #4 Disable Safe-T-Switch

In your HVAC encasement, there is a large pipe coming out of the furnace. On that pipe, the HVAC technicians have installed a Safe-T-Switch that when flipped, will disable your system for the time being.

What you have to do is locate that very pipe and ensure that the clog of the safety switch is spun towards the OFF side.

This means that the switch is currently disabled and your system should be working properly (along with the thermostat).

Note: If required, apply force to spin the switch, due to its anti-children technology, preventing curious kids from spinning it.

Solution #5 Reconnect Trane Thermostat’s Wires

Although your thermostat is battery-operated, it still has the wires that connect it to the HVAC system so it can respectively disable/enable the ACS.

If any of those wires got damaged in an irreversible way, you may notice that the thermostat won’t turn on at times.

Here’s how to reconnect your Trane thermostat’s wires easily:

1. Take the front panel of the thermostat off.
2. Expose the 7 wires that are connected to the back.
3. Ensure each of the wires is connected to the panel securely.

How Do Wires Have To Be Connected?

On the back of your thermostat, there are 7 wires in total: an orange one, a white one, a green one, a blue one, a black one yellow and a red one.

The wires have to be connected this way:

• Orange wire at “F” entry.
• White wire at “X2” entry.
• Green Wire at “G” entry.
• Blue wire at “O” entry.
• Black wire at “Y” entry.
• Yellow and red wire both at “R” entry.

Note: If you notice that a wire is damaged, make sure to contact an HVAC technician immediately.

Solution #6 Reset Trane Thermostat

Although your thermostat is unable to start up, chances are that the problem is software-related if none of our solutions helped so far.

A factory reset will definitely manage to fix issues with the software of your device if applied properly.

Here’s how to factory reset your Trane thermostat easily:

1. Ensure that your HVAC system is idle.
2. Go over to the box with the circuit breakers
3. Locate the HVAC system switch.
4. Slowly turn it to the OFF side in an interval of 5 seconds.
5. Standby for 30 seconds and then spin it back to ON.

Note: If your thermostat is functional, you should notice that the device is starting up or its display flickers and boots up after enabling the circuit breaker.

Thus, to fix a Trane thermostat that refuses to turn on, power cycle the device and make sure that the Safe-T-Switch isn’t flipped. Next, clean the battery compartment of the device and replace the batteries. Finally, check if each HVAC system wiring inside of the thermostat is correct.

Read Next: Why Is Trane Thermostat Not Cooling?

Bottom Line:

After learning why the Trane thermostat not turning on, we hope that the problem you were after is now solved.

If you’re still having issues contact an HVAC technician to identify and solve the problem.